This invention deals generally with brushing and cleaning and more specifically with cleaning snow and ice from the roofs of vehicles.
It is not an uncommon experience in localities which experience significant snowfall to see a slab of snow fly off the roof of a vehicle and strike a following vehicle. Regardless of the vehicle from which the snow is released, the experience is startling to the driver of the following vehicle. However, if the snow is from atop a large semi-trailer, and particularly if it has been hardened into ice, the event can not only be startling, but also very dangerous.
This has always been a concern of the trucking industry. Therefore, trucking companies spend considerable money to clear snow and ice from the roofs of trailers after every major snow storm. This effort not only takes money but also requires significant time, so that the operation of the trucks of a large fleet can be delayed significantly after a snowstorm. Furthermore, since the snow and ice removal has generally been done manually by workers shoveling from atop the trailers, employers and insurance companies are very concerned about the danger of such workers slipping and falling from the typically 13 foot high trailer roofs. Furthermore, at least one state, New Jersey, requires that such roof snow and ice be cleared before a truck moves onto a public road, but even without such requirements, there is a significant increase in fuel consumption, and therefore an increase in the cost of operation, if snow or ice is not removed.
Several devices exist that attempt to address this problem. U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,654 by Yeaglin, the inventor of the present application, discloses an immovable bridge like structure supporting a vertically adjustable wedge shaped snow plow that vehicles can move under to have snow or ice removed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,356 by Candeletti uses a snow removal scraper supported on a pillar installed on cement footings.
One of the problems with such structures is that they are very large in both width and height, and therefore occupy significant space, particularly considering that they must have significant free space around them to permit maneuvering semi-trailers into and through them. This problem is aggravated because the height of these structures requires particular care to assure their stability, and the situation is particularly bothersome to users who do not need a snow scraper throughout a large portion of any year.
Published Patent Application US200910282708 by Reed attempts to overcome this problem by supplying a structure that is not imbedded in the ground, but instead is held down by four removable concrete blocks which rest on two base plates attached at the bottom of the vertical supports of the bridge like structure. The snow scraper structure can then be moved to a storage location when not in use. This is accomplished by using two forklifts vehicles with 5000 pound capacity. The forklifts first lift each of the 3 ton concrete blocks off the base plate. Then, by inserting their forks into pockets within the two base plates at the bottom of opposite sides of the bridge structure, the two forklifts work in tandem to move the structure. This is no easy task since the structure weight is 8,800 pounds, is over 16 feet tall, and is approximately 17 feet wide.
Since it is clear that a movable snow scraper structure has the distinct benefit of being movable out of the way when not in use, it would be very beneficial to have such a movable snow scraper available, particularly for small businesses, that does not require the use of two heavy duty forklifts and two specially skilled operators who can operate in tandem on opposite sides of a wide, tall, and heavy structure such as the typical snow scraper.